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No. 280,959. Patented July 10, 1883.

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No. 280,959. Patented July 10, 1888.`

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SAFETY DEVICE FOR LOCOMOTlVE-PILOTS.

SPEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 280,959, dated July 10, 1883,

vApplication filed March 9, 1883. (No modehl To all whom it may' concern:

Be it known that I, OSCAR Ro'rrIRocK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beech Creek, in the county of Clinton and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and l useful Improvements in Safety Devices 4for LocomotivefPilots; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable In others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a safety attachment l or guard device for locomotive-pilots or cowcatohers, the object thereof being to remove obstructions, whether animate or inanimate, from the. track and prevent the train froin passing over the same. The pilot or coweateher of a locomotive as ordinarily con structed does not extend to the track-rails,

and hence it frequently happens that an animalA or other object, after having been struck by the pilot, drops again in front of the same, or is brought into such a position that the locomotive and train pass over such object, consequently rendering the train very liable to be thrown oi from the track and causing loss of lifeand property.

My invention is designed to obviate such dangerous results or accidents; and it consists of a sheath or hood which conforms to the shape or contour of the pilot, and is made to slid up and down on the outer orl inner surface of the same. The bottom edge of the sheath is provided withtwo notches, which receive the track-rails and permitvthe central portion of the shield to sweep the space between said rails. rIhe sheath slides up and 4 down on roller-ways on the pilot-bars, and is combined withV suitable devices or mechanism for operating the same from the cab or engine room of the locomotive. The sheath,.when 4 5 lowered to its full extent, projects beyond the track-rails and moves in close proximity to the cross-ties or sleepers, so as to effectually prevent any obstruction from' passing under the pilot. The sheath generally carries the. 5o brushes for sweeping the traclerails, and may also carry the scoop and` hose connected there rollers, the latter serving to permit the shield with for taking up water when the train is running.

' In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the front portion of a locomotive and its pilot or cow-catcher, the latter having a covering sheath or hood which is capable of sliding on roller-Ways on said pilot, as is indicated through the broken-out portion of the shield. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the pilot, showing the sheath in a lowered position.

The pilotAA is of the customary form and constructionthat is, it is formed of inclined bottoni bars converging to a nose or point, Y and the rear wardlyinelined vertical bars, cono5 stitnting the grated body portion of said pilot.

A sheath or hood, B, made oi' metal, gottapercha, wood, or other suitable materiaipos- SO to move freely at all times. A The extreme lower part ofthe sheath may be made of hard rubber, when'desired, the remaining or body'portion being generally constructed of solid sheet metal. The sheath or hood, covering the pilot in the manner above stated, may have interior ribs, which slide in the roller-ways of the pilotbars, so as to prevent the lateral displacement oi' the sheath and maintain it always in a working position. Other means, howeversuch as guide iianges or strips-maybe resorted to for holding the sheath in proper working relation to the pilot. The bottom edge of the sheath is provided with two notches, o., which are so disposed that the sheath can pass down on each side oi' the track-rails when it is lowered to its full extent, as illustrated in Fig. 2. Suitable holders or sockets, b, are located in juxtaposition or in line with these notches for receiving and retaining brushes c, which serve to sweep the traclprails, these brushes being of such size or so arranged that they will only IOC the side of the track.

sweep the rails when the sheath is sufficiently lowered; or, when the brushes encounter objects lodged on the rails, they will serve to remove the same. l

The means for raising and lowering or operating asafety sheath or guard device applied to a pilot and constructed in the above-described manner depends altogether upon the character of the locomotive or the position of the cab or engine-room, it being understood that the sheath is designed in all cases to be under the control of the engineer,'so that it can be quickly and easily operated for the purposes herein set forth, and any suitable mechanism for raising and lowering it can be employed.

In the present instance I have illustrated an operating mechanism for the sheath which Vconsists of a rock-shaft, E, located at the front of the locomotive-truck, and having an arm, e, connected with a link, f, extending from the center of the upper portion of the sheath. A rod, g, connected with an arm, h, on the outer end of the rock-shaft, extends to a vertical lever which is located in the cab of the locomotive, and has a suitable pawlv or spring-catch for locking it to a notched segment or plate or other holding device. It will be manifest that when said lever is locked in one position the sheath is held in an elevated state, as is shown in Fig. l, so that the sheath will not project beyond the bottom bars of the pilot. When the lev'er is released, the weight of the shaft suffices to let it drop until it is again locked. When approaching cattle on the track, the sheath is lowered to within such a dis` tance from the rails that there will be no liability of danger should an animal be struck and fall in front of the locomotive. In such an event the guard device, in connection with its rigid backing, would throw the animal to Vhen obstructions eX- ist on crossings, switches, &c., the sheath is lowered to a point just level with the rails, so as to throw such obstructions outwardly from the track. In position where no objects such as switch-rails, frogs, 85o., are between the track-rails, the sheath can be loweredto within a short distance of the sleepers or cross-ties, so as to permit the engineer from his seat to throw off any object likea cow, hog, or sheep.y

Guide-posts may belocated at the side oi the track for indicating the nature and position of obstructions which will prevent the shield from being lowered to its full extent. When the sheath is in its lowermost position, (illustrated in Fig. 2,) the track-rails are received in the notches thereof, and obviously the bottom edge sheath sweeps along the outer sides lof the track-rails and in the vspa'cebetween the latter; hence it follows that there is absolutely no possibility of any object liable to do damage from passing under the pilot, and a sheath, when in this position, is also serviceable for removing snow and small objects from the rails.

In addition to the functions of the sheath vas a track-clearing and safety device, I would observe that the scoop for supplying water to the tender while the train is running may be connected with said sheath, so that when the latter is lowered the scoop will take up the water and deliver it to the tank through a hose or pipe connected with said scoop.

In a system of locomotives recently devised by me the means of ingress to the cab and egress therefrom are located at the front of the locomotive, the engine-room being also located at the same point. In such instances I make provision for facilitating the ascent and descent over the cow-catcher by providing the covering-sheath of the-latter with projections or steps onrits `outer surface. These steps are either riveted or otherwisesecured to the sheath, or they may be made in one piece therewith when gutta-percha is used in the lconstruction of the sheath.

the rails, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination of a locomotive-pilot having roller or slide ways with asheath or hood fitted thereon and nsuitable means for raising and lowering the sheath from the engine-room or cab, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. r

3. The combination of the notched sheath or hood and the brushes carried by the same with the locomotive-pilot and suitable means for raising and lowering the sheath, substantially as herein set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

p v OSCAR ROTHROGK.

Witnesses: p V

J. R. YOUNGMAN, F. B. FURsT.

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